Discussion Questions – Trobriand Islanders and Samoans
Name: ___________________________________
Date: _________________
Trobriand Islanders
What surprises and/or interests you most about the Trobriand Island culture? Why does
this surprise and/or interest you?
What is economic life like for the Trobriand Islanders? (e.g. mode of production,
exchange, mode of consumption) What do you find most interesting/surprising about
Trobriand Islander economic life?
In what ways is Trobriand Island culture different from your own culture/other cultures
you have read about?
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In what ways is Trobriand Island culture similar to your own culture/other cultures you
have read about?
In what ways has globalization/culture contact affected the Trobriand Islanders, and in
what ways have the Trobriand Islanders adapted to globalization/culture contact? What
are some examples of hybridization and/or localization in Trobriand Island culture?
Malinowski first studied the Trobriand Islanders in 1914, and some 60 years later Weiner
went to do fieldwork among the Trobriand Islanders as well. How did Malinowski’s and
Weiner’s approaches differ? What are some of the factors that might account for each of
their perspectives?
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Samoans
What surprises and/or interests you most about the Samoan culture? Why does this
surprise and/or interest you?
What is economic life like for the Samoans? (e.g. mode of production, exchange, mode
of consumption) What do you find most interesting/surprising about Samoan economic
life?
In what ways is Samoan culture different from your own culture/other cultures you have
read about?
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In what ways is Samoan culture similar to your own culture/other cultures you have read
about?
In what ways has globalization/culture contact affected the Samoans, and in what ways
have the Samoans adapted to globalization/culture contact? What are some examples of
hybridization and/or localization in Samoan culture?
Given what you have learned about anthropology’s holistic and comparative perspective,
what you have read about the Samoans, and what you have seen in the video, how might
you address the Mead-Freeman debate?
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